Budget Padding: The Sociological Perspective Of The Act

By Paul Michael… For sometimes now, the mainstream media and the social media has been agog with discourse and criticism of the act of budget padding, which is unjustifiable insertion or manipulation of budget. The act was allegedly perpetrated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, and twelve other members of the House.

 

The padding imbroglio began in the green chamber, when the erstwhile chairman of the Appropriation Committee of the House, Abdulmumin Jibrin, was removed as the committee’s chairperson for allowing the padding of the Appropriation Bill.

 

Unfortunately, that single act on the part of the principal officers of the green chamber, has since opened doors of unimaginable revelations regarding how the national budget was padded by the Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara and other three Principal Officers.

 

Speaking through his Twitter handle, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin allegedly stated that “our petition to the EFCC and ICPC against Speaker Dogara, Lasun, Doguwa, Ogor and eight other members have been dispatched.”

 

He further added that “the case against them ranges from corrupt enrichment, abuse of office and public trust, living above means and massive movement of funds in budget.”

 

In an attempt to dispute the allegations, the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, told Journalists after his private meeting with President Mohammadu Buhari at the presidential villa on August 5, 2016 that “I studied Law and I have been in the legislature and all this period I have never heard of the word padding being an offence under any law.”

 

Technically, Speaker Dogara accepted that he actually padded the 2016 budget according to the allegations of Jibrin, but he was quick to add that padding is not a crime. It is obvious that the Speaker has made padding a norm, hence, he is blinded to the injustice that trails the practice.

 

In like manner, minority leader of the green chamber, Leo Ogor, held an impromptu town hall meeting with a small segment of his constituents at Oleh, headquarters of Isoko South Council Area, on August 7, 2016 and said “I did not pad the budget. I introduced projects in line with allocation of N1.4 billion given to me for my constituency.”

 

Systematically, Leo Ogor accepted that he actually inserted projects worth N1.4billion into the budget, but in a bid to win the sympathy of inimical constituents, he quickly added that the amount was allocated to him for his constituency as a principal officer. However, he forgot to state that such secret insertion amounts to budget fraud.

 

While the Dogaras and Leos want Nigerians to believe that padding is not a crime, Jibrin was however removed as the chairman of the appropriation committee for the padding of the 2016 Appropriation Bill. This indicates that Dogara and Leo are not coming out clean as long as the padding abnormality is concern.

 

As a Criminologist, what constitutes crime can be seen from different perspectives. Crime can be viewed from the legal perspective, constitutive perspective, sociological perspective, etc.

 

According to the legal perspective, crime is an intentional act or omission that  contravenes a law, for which a  punishment is attached. Legally, there are seven elements of a crime; the harm, its legality, the condemned act, the guilty mind, the causal link between the harm and the condemned act, the concurrence relationship between the condemned act and the guilty mind as well as a legally recognized punishment.

 

While I leave our learned legal practitioners to determine the legality of padding in accordance with the existing laws of our Nation and the rules of the House of Representatives, let me quickly add that sociologically, crime is more encompassing and broad.

 

The sociological school of thought see crime as the violation of culture, norms or values of a group or the society, which is beyond the mere violation of the criminal code or any prohibited act.

 

Based on the foregoing, one can opine that some criminal acts are not codified in the criminal code of a State, but such acts have advanced effects on individuals, social institutions and the moral fabrics of the society.

 

Whether or not the act of padding is acceptable in the House of Representatives, the manner at which the 2016 budget was padded is simply unusual. This cannot be in the interest of Nigeria, but a fraudulent scheme for self aggrandizement.

 

If you recalled vividly, a group of lawmakers called the Transparency Group, told Premium Times on August 6, 2016 that “the general public should note that Speaker Yakubu Dogara made criminal insertions (otherwise known as “budget padding”) to the tune of over N3billion to his constituency alone.”

 

“While the entire Zonal Intervention for the three (3) Senatorial Districts of Bauchi State and 12 Federal Constituencies in the state amounts to N1,666,666,666″, the group continued, “the Speaker criminally inserted about 200 percent of the amount, totalling N3,079,000,000 to his constituency alone!”

 

It may interest you to note that the same Lawmakers have told constituents that they are not responsible for constituency projects because such projects are rarely executed across the nation. Yet, Speaker Dogara can still go haywire to pad the national budget. Obviously, something is wrong somewhere.

 

In another vein, Abdulmumin Jibrin alleged that the sum of $10,000 was given to about eight members of the Appropriation Committee by the Speaker to give room for unhealthy insertion of projects into the Budget. This act of bribery is a criminal act on its own, which attracts punishment from the Criminal Code, so it should be investigated by the EFCC.

 

The implications and harm caused by the abnormal conduct of the Speaker and the accused twelve is first, that of national embarrassment and moral disgrace it imposed on the Nigerian State. Secondly, the injustice done to Nigerians, whose Representatives were not part of the padding process. Lastly, the diversion of funds and non-execution of constituency projects. Hence, thorough investigation is required to unveil the hidden mystery surrounding the budget padding.

 

Let me state categorically that, It will not be out of place, to sociologically conclude that the unwholesome padding of the 2016 Budget is a criminal act, since it did not followed a transparent pattern in line with the values of the House of Representatives.

 

Our major challenge, however, is the fact that the act was perpetrated by leaders who are unwilling to undertake the process of restitution and plead for pardon from displeased, cheated, manipulated and harmed Nigerians, whose hearts are open for forgiveness.

 

If it were to be in advanced nations, Speaker Dogara and other Principal Officers in the House would have resigned their portfolio in order to calm the brewing situation and protect the image of the nation before the world.

 

For instance, a former Speaker of New York State Assembly, Sheldon Silver, resigned his leadership post on February 2, 2015, after being charged for corruption. In like manner, Dean Skelos, a former majority leader of New York State Senate, resigned May 11, 2015, a week after his arrest based on corruption charges. Most recently, is the resignation of the Prime Minister of Iceland, Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson, who stepped aside on April 5, 2016, after the revelation of the Panama Papers Scandal, which indicted also our Senate President, Bukola Saraki.

 

Unfortunately, Nigeria is not a nation where leaders that are indicted or charged for corruption vacate their leadership position. While this is pathetic, the ordinary Nigerian is beholding the situation hopelessly, as our judicial institutions do little or nothing to discourage this immorality and illegality.

 

Meanwhile, it is pertinent to note that the same Lawmakers who are running a divisive and non-inclusive legislative house are the same set of leaders that preach oneness across the Nigerian polity. It is a disgusting, however, that Nigerians will erroneously support the political lust of these controversial leaders come 2019.

 

Ripples Nigeria…without borders, without fears

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now